Hello Family in Christ! I hope your Sunday is going well!!! I hope you had a great week and are ready for more Weekly Wisdom! I apologize that this is late but I am very busy with life so it wasn't ready Sunday.
All right! First I want to give a quick shout out to my childhood friend and amazing sister in Christ, Juliana for this week's newsletter idea!! Thank you so much. Without further ado, the topic this week is: how to manage school while also having a job.
I know yall are probably thinking "Wait, this sounds like last week!" Well.......to be honest it is off of what I talked about last week. But, I received a few requests to elaborate on some areas of what I talked about so here we are!!
Let's get started Family!
First, let's start with a prayer!
So, managing school and work. It can be hard but with God at your side and some help and encouragement, you can do it!!! Let's start by taking a look at the school part of this.
Right now you could be in a lower grade like middle school, High School, or even College. Wherever you are you have classes and most likely homework/assignments to go with that. If you are in a higher grade it can be a little more stressful than if you were in middle school but don't worry! I'll be helping you through that too! First, start by making a list of all your subjects. The list needs to be on a piece of paper big enough that they're not squished together. Leave space between them!!! Mine are below:
Math
Science
Latin
Literature
Theology
History
Now highlight each subject IN A DIFFERENT COLOR! So for example math could be blue and literature could be green. Just make sure you pick a different color. Also, they have to be colors that you'll remember.
Then..........find a nice big calender or some other weekly planner etc. that has at least the five days of the week. You need Monday through Friday. Ok, so now comes the part where you decide how it is you're going to break up your subjects. For instance I do Math and Science on Monday mornings sometimes and on Wednesday and Friday mornings. Latin class in Monday afternoon and the homework is due by Friday night so I usually get that done on Wednesday morning too. Etc, etc etc. So, whatever subjects/classes you have on specific days, use that subjects color and put a little bar or heart or whatever you want on that day. So from the above paragraph example, Math would be blue on Monday, Wednesday, and/or Friday. Literature would be green on Wednesday afternoon (that's when my class is) and so on and so forth.
All right, let's take a breather. If that was too confusing for you, please email me with any questions and I'm happy to help! Ok, moving on!
Now comes the work part!!! ;) So, I work Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 A.M to 1:20 P.M. followed by my History and Theology classes. So, that means I can't really do schoolwork Tuesday and Thursday. That leaves Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Wed. I have afternoon dance followed by a class.
Ok.....now that I've bored yall out of your minds with my crazy life, let's get to the "job/school" part. From my above illustrations, I have to be really really careful about how I designate my time for school etc. I am so blessed to work at the same place where I attend school. I know many of you probably don't have that opportunity. But, I want you to know that even if you don't, you can still manage time well. All that being said, please use the below checklist to help you organize your work/school time. If you would like the Google doc list, please email me!! Here you are Family!:
Don't procrastinate!!!!! This is number one in actually being effective in getting things done. The more you procrastinate, the better you get at it. When you have something that needs to get done, JUST DO IT!!!!
Always always always make sure you set time limits for yourself. This one is sooooo important!!! If you have to write a 10 page research paper and you sit down to do it in one sitting, you'll never finish. You need to set time limits for yourself. Sit down and tell yourself you have an hour to get as much as you can done AND when that you're done you'll have some ice cream or read a book. In other words set a time goal and when you're done move on to something else.
Never ever try to get all your subjects done at once. It just doesn't work. You need to space them out otherwise you'll get school burnout. And school is so much harder when you're sick.
ALWAYS TAKE A BREAK! Don't do "binge school" where you do school all.the.time.without.a.break. Take frequent breaks between each subject. That helps you pace yourself with how much time you spend on each one. Go talk a quick five minute walk, read for a little bit, play some music, eat, whatever you want to do but make sure you do it between each subject or to. This also helps recharge your brain so that you can focus better on the next subject you move on to.
Pray, pray, pray during your school and work day. You will never be able to accomplish everything if you shut God out. Remember, God made you for greatness and you need to let Him do His part. God is the key to success!!!
And finally, if you absolutely cannot do everything, tone down a little. If you are getting sick over school or are depressed etc. tell your teachers or get help. You need to be able to understand what it is you're learning, not worrying about it and getting sick because you have so much.
So those are mostly the school tips/guidance I have. In terms of work, make sure that you have a healthy work/school balance. I am at a point in my life where I'm financially responsible so I depend on my job to pay for my bills/expenses etc. So I need the job I have now. Because it's part time, I am able to work as well as attend classes and do homework. There's no no NO way in reality that I could work more hours so I don't. But if you are a college student with only one class right now, or are on a two or three week holiday break, maybe you get a part time or full time job for a little bit to make some money. In other words, look at your schedule and determine how much leftover time you have AFTER school, down time, and family time. Then.....you can add in the job. Also, make sure it's a job that you can tolerate or better yet, that you love! That way it'll be easer to focus on the things in your life if you don't have added job stress.
Well Family, that's it for now! Thanks for reading and as always, feel free to email me with any questions you have at journeyingwithjesus18@gmail.com.
I am praying for all of you every day. If you haven't yet, please subscribe to get all my newsletters as well as all other upcoming events or posts! And, check out the groups lists at JTH and join the ones you're interested in.
Until next time,
God loves you and so do I!!!
Your sister in Christ Jesus,
Faustina♥♥♥